SportsLine’s Top Weekend Picks: All Basketball, All The Time

Indiana has turned around a rough Big Ten start, but only to an extent. A four-game win streak came against the bottom four teams in the standings, and was snapped Tuesday at Nebraska. Prior to the win streak, the Hoosiers lost to hapless Illinois, and to the Big Ten’s elite, including a 15-point defeat to the Buckeyes. OSU still has a chance at a regular-season co-championship in the Big Ten, enough motivation to bring it in Bloomington.

Western Michigan at Ball State fills the primetime MAC slot on Friday. The Cardinals shook off a 1-4 start to their season to become a formidable conference leader. They take on a Broncos team that has garnered attention for several years, due to their core nucleus of talent, led by senior Thomas Wilder. Western Michigan defeated Ball State by 15 points at home last month. Still, this is a solid opportunity for a series split, with oddsmakers having to tilt the line based on the Broncos’ dominance in January. Grab Ball State.

Both teams went into the All-Star Break on downers. Boston closed 0-3 SU and ATS, while Detroit went 2-3 SU and 0-5 ATS. But this spot favors the Pistons, who got a couple more practices in with Blake Griffin. They’re 6-3 overall since the blockbuster trade, and they will be a desperate home team Friday night. Detroit currently sits 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot. Play the home dog.

My numbers suggest the Timberwolves will cover this tempting number at least two-thirds of the time in their Friday game against the Rockets. Minnesota has covered in five of its past six trips to Houston, and the underdog is on a solid 7-3 ATS run in this series.

The Jazz have won 11 straight, including a 19-point victory at Portland 12 days ago. But there’s no chance they’ll be complacent, given they sit in 10th place in the West and are looking up at Portland. Rudy Gobert’s return has made all the difference; he’s working on four straight double-doubles. Lay it.